Stiffening for corsets



2 SheefisSheet 1.

(No Model.)

J. STONE & M. GARDNER.

STIFFBNING FOR CORSETS.

No. 351,344. Patented Oct. 19, 1886.

an. FM

N Pnsns. Photo-Lilhognphcn Washington. D464 (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. STONE & M. GARDNER.

STIIEFENING FOR consms.

No. 351,344. Patented Oct. 19, 1886.

mar e/a A -iwentofi;

153M anna-51522714: y f j mimzz amwwr.

WWQ I ditdo 'n y N PETERS, mww-umo m, Wnshingmm n. c.

UNITE STATES JAMES STONE AND MARSHALL GARDNER, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN- OBS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SAID STONE, ELIZABETH FLORSHEIH, OF CHICAGO, AND ALICE M. BALL, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS.

STlFFENING FOR CORSETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,344, dated October 19, 1886.

Application filed October-29,1884.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JAMES S'ronn and .MARSHALL GARDNER, of Aurora, in the coun ty of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in, Stiffenings for Corsets and other Articles; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved form of stiffening for use in the 1 bodies of corsets; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the use of whalebones, strips of horn, bamboo, or other similar material for stiffen- 2o ings of corsets, such bones or strips have heretofore usually been secured in pockets formed between the inner andouter layers or thick nesses of material composing the corset by parallel rows of stitching, and into which 2 5 pockets the strips or bones have been inserted separately by hand. In other cases the stiff ening strips or bones have been inserted between the layers of the corset one at a time, and the stitching done alongside the bone by 0 the use of a sewing-machine having a cording attachment of suitable construction for the purpose. It is mainly with a view to the insertion of the bones by another method involving the improvement and cheapening of 5 the corset that this invent-ion has been made.

The stiffening constructed as proposed by this invention forms a web of composite stiffening fabric, and consists of a series of strips of bamboo, whalebone, or other analogous 4o stiffening material, arranged parallel with and apart from each other and united with each other by a layer or layers of cloth or other flexible material, the said stiffening being made in continuous lengths with a view to its being cut up into pieces of length equal to or shorter than the height of the corset, and when used being placed between the layers of the corset-body and secured in Serial No. 146,738. (No model.)

this position by stitching through the material of the corset and through the fabric of the stiffening along the spaces between said stiffening strips or bones. The pieces or sections cut from the continuous stiffening are called batteries.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a strip of corset-stiffening of indefinite or continuous length constructed as proposed by our invention, such strip being shown as rolled for convenience in handling, packing, or transportation. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of part of a corset, illustrating the use of the stiffening constructed in accordance with one form of this invention, one of the corset-layers and the several parts of the stiffening being broken for better illustration. Fig. 3 is a view showing a short piece of the completed stiffening, wherein the bones or bamboo strips are held between two layers of fabric, and the said layers'and bones are broken off of unequal lengths to better show the relation of the parts. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section through the inner and outer layers of a corset containing a battery of this stiffening, taken on line a w of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a similar enlarged section taken upon line 00 .1: of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is afragmentary view illustrating the stiffening made in several separated groups of stilfening-strips united with each other by the flexible material to which the several bones are attached. Fig. 7 is a sectional View of a battery of stiffening slightly differing from that shown in Fig. 5).

As shown in the drawings, A A represent narrow bones, bamboo, or other strips of analogous stiffening material, and B B are two layers of cloth, paper, or other flexible material, between which said strips are secured, and by which they are held at the proper distance apart.

As apreferrcd form of construction, the layers of cloth B are secured to each other over the interposed strips A by means of paste or glue, which, for convenience, is usually applied to the entire adjacent surfaces of the layers of cloth B, so as to secure them to each I in which, unlike those shown in equally between the strips,

other and also to the strips. This means of connecting the parts has the obvious advantages of being exceedingly simple and of en abling the stiffening to be rapidly and cheaply made. The strips A. may, however, in carrying out the broad features of the invention, be held between the layers of cloth in any other way found convenient or desirableas, for instance, by pasting the layers of cloth to each other in their portions which come in contact between the strips only, or by connecting said portions of the layers between the strips by basting or sewing.

In Figs. 2 and 4, C and 0 represent, respectively, the outerand inner layers of cloth composing a corset, the improved stiffening being shown in said figures as secured between said layers of the corset by means of lines of stitching 0, extending through said layers 0 C and the layers B and B of the stiffening between the strips or bones A.

In order to give a requisite degree-of flexibility, combined with the necessary strength in the stiffening constructed with two thicknesses of flexible material, as above described, the strips A Athereof, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, are preferably made duplex, or of two strips, a a, placed one upon the other. The said two strips a a are obviously held in position one upon the other by the inclosing layers of cloth B B, so that stiffening composed of duplex strips A may, in its use in the construction of corsets, be manipulated and secured with the same facility as that formed of singlestrips. It is obviously not necessary that the layers of cloth B Bshould permanently adhere to the strips A, or to each other, inasmuch as the important function of the material uniting the strips is to hold the latter in position until required for use and while the stiffening is being fastened in the corset, after which the connection between the parts may become disrupted without detriment, and in cases where paper is used to form the layers B B it is obviously liable finally to become broken or torn in the continued use of the corset.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4t, 5, and 6, the layer B of connecting material at one side of the strips is made fiat, and the layer B at the opposite side thereof is creased or depressed between the edges of the strips, the flat layer, in the case of a corset, being preferably placed in contact with the inner thickness thereof, so that the projections or corrugations caused by the strips appear upon the outside.

In Fig. 7 a form of the stiffening is shown Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4c, 5, and '6, the layers B B are depressed so as to givea corrugated appearance to thestiffening upon both sides of the latter, the stiffeningstrips shown in this case being single, instead of duplex, as described in connection with the above-mentioned figures 1 to 6.

The improved stiffening, whether containnite lengths obviously possesses great advautages in point of economy, inasmuch as it can be cut to the desired length without waste, and the full length of the bones or bamboo strips used for the stiffening may be utilized without waste.

In the use of bamboo as a stiffening material important advantages are-found to exist in the construction described, wherein the' strips are duplex and held between two thicknesses of cloth,.inasmuch as strips of the material mentioned,if thin enough to have the requisite flexibility, are not usually of sufficient strength. By the duplex construction described it is found that bamboo strips may be made of greatly increased strength and flexibility Without any of the disadvantages attending the use of double strips heretofore employed, and a construction of the stiffening in which duplex strips are used in connection with two thicknesses of flexible material uniting them, to form a continuous strip from which pieces of the desired lengths may be cut off, is'therefore made the subject of a specific claim herein. a

The method of inserting bamboo strips in a corset by the use of a sewing-machine having a cording attachment and by stitching through both thicknesses of the corset-bodyis very expeditious; but when it is used the strips necessaril y terminate at the extreme edge of the fabric of the corset, for the reason that in stitching the stripsinto the pieces or sections com posing the corset the strips and lines of stitching are extended continuously from one section to another through a number of sections, which latter are afterward separated by cutting through the strips between them, so that the strips can only be cut off at a distance from the margins of the corset by ripping apart the I layers of the corset-body after they have been sewed and then cutting off the end portions of the strips-an operation obviously disadvantageous in the manufacture of corsets in large quantities. A construction in which the stiffening-strips are extended to the extreme edge of the corset is objectionable for several reasons, one of which is that the ends thereof are liable in a short time to cut or wear through the binding secured over the edges in finishing the corset.

By the use of the stiffening constructed as herein described and claimed the desired flexible border may be formed at the margin of the IIO corset without additional labor by cutting the pieces of stiffening to the desired length shorter than the height of the corset preparatory to their insertion between the thicknesses of cloth of which the corset is composed.

We are aware that it has been proposed heretofore to form a stiffening for corsets by means of two strips of reed splints or rattan piled one upon the other and held together in a tubular braided covering; and we are also aware that it has been proposed to make a short removable piece or battery for use as a corset-stiffening, consisting of a series of short bones separately inserted and confined both at their sides and ends in pockets formed by stitching together two layers of cloth, the said removable stilfening-piece being as a whole in sorted in a single wide pock ct formed between the thicknesses of the corset.

\Vc are further aware that it has been proposed heretofore to employ eyelet-stays for the extreme rear edges of a corset, consisting of two parallel steel strips separated to allow the insertion of the lacing eyelets between them, and connected by a strip of cloth, the opposite edges of which are folded over the strips and pasted together,so as to form an intermediate thickened web adapted to provide a more substantial support for the eyelets than is afforded by the cloth of the corset alone, each of the stays made in this manner being inserted in a single wide marginal pocket formed at the back edge of the corset.

The stiffening set forth in the appended claims differs as an article from those above mentioned in being specifically adapted to the bodies of corsets, and in being made of a series of strips in continuous lengths, whereby it may be made with great rapidity and economy, and cutthereal'tcrinto pieces or batteries of any length desired, and finally secured permanently between the layers composing the corset by stitching through the latter and through the material uniting the strips between said strips in the operation of joining together the layers of the corset-body, the space between each two adjacent strips being narrower than the width of the strips themselves, and of suitable width to receive only a single line of stitching, whereby the lines of stitches between the strips may be located at the usual distance apart, and will operate to confine the inner and outer layers of cloth of the corset closely about the strips. By this construction the usual ribbed appearance is given to the portions of the corset containing the stiffening, and the latter is rendered stronger and more durable by reason of the fact that the cloth layers of the corset, when drawn and held closely over or in contact with the several stiffening-strips, as described,tend to prevent the said strips from bending to an extent exceeding their limit of flexibility.

\Ve are aware, furthermore, that a flexible strip for skirts or crinolines has been heretofore made,consisting of a series of narrow and thin strips or strands of wire held parallel with each other, side by side, by means of a covering of woven fabric consisting of two layers of fabric secured to the wires by indiarubber cement, the composite strip or strand thus made having been intended for use to form a hoop for skirts or crinolines,in the same manner as is another well-known form of composite strip consisting of two flat wires placed one upon the other and held in a braided covering. Notwithstanding other differences between these former articles and that here claimed than in the material forming the stiffeningstrips, we expressly disclaim the use of metal and restrict ourself to the use of bamboo or analogous material suitable to be employed in the bodies of corsets.

By the employment of paste or glue instead of stitching as a means of uniting the bones or stifi'eningstrips to the layer or layers of connecting material, important advantages are obtained, for the reason that the paste or glue forms a connection which may be easily and cheaply made, and which is at the same time of ample strength for the temporary purpose required of it.

A method by which the novel article herein described may be made forms the subject of an application, Serial No. 189,478, filed by us upon the 28d day of January, 1886, and a corset containing said article, and a method of constructing said corset, are described and claimed in an application for patent, Serial No. 187,954, filed by us upon the 8th day of January, 1886. A method of and apparatus for constructing said article herein claimed also form the subject of still another application for patent, Serial No. 189,473, filed by Marshall Gardner, January 23, 1886.

\Ve claim as our invention 1. The hereindescribed web of composite stitfening fabric for employment in the bodies of corsets, said fabric comprising two layers of cloth or other flexible material of continuous length,and a plurality of narrow bamboo strips placed parallel with each other between said layers, with spaces between said strips, in which spaces theinelosing fabrics are brought into contact with each other and there secured, the said spaces being of a width less than that of the stiffening-strips, substantially as set forth.

2. lhe herein-described web of composite stiffening fabric for employment in the bodies of corsets, the same comprising two layers of cloth or other flexible material of continuous length, and a plurality of narrow parallel bamboo strips placed between said layers and separated from each other by spaces narrower than the width. of the strips, in which spaces the inclosing-layers are brought together and there secured to each other, each of said bamboo strips consisting of two layers or thicknesses ot' the bamboo or analogous stiffening material, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described web of composite IIC stiffening fabric for employment in the bodies In testimony that we claim the foregoing as of corsets, the said Web comprising two layers our invention we affix our signatures in presof cloth or other flexible material of continuence of two witnesses.

ous length and a plurality of narrow parallel 5 bamboo strips placed between said layers and JAMES STONE. A separated from each other by spaces narrower MARSHALL GARDNER. than the width of the strips, the inclosing-layers being brought together between the strips Witnesses: and there secured to each other, and elsewhere THORNTON WARE,

- ro secured to the stiffening-strips by paste or glue, A. O. LITTLE.

substantially as described. 

